The present invention relates to a bracket for attaching a sun visor having electric equipment to a vehicle body in which an illumination device, the electric power of which is supplied from wire harness arranged on a roof of a vehicle, is provided.
A sun visor has been recently developed which is arranged on a roof of a front seat of a vehicle and provided with a vanity mirror. Further, a sun visor has been recently developed which is provided with not only a vanity mirror but also an illumination device used for the vanity mirror.
FIG. 12 is a view showing an attaching structure of a related sun visor having an illumination device, which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-175250U.
As shown in FIG. 12, the related sun visor 1 includes: a sun visor body 2 provided with a vanity mirror 3 having a lamp for illumination; and a shaft 5 pivotably attached to the sun visor body 2, wherein this shaft 5 is an attaching section attached to a roof trim 4a and a roof panel 4b of a vehicle
An electric wire 7 for connection passes in the shaft 5 of the sun visor 1 having an illumination device, and one end of the electric wire 7 for connection is connected with the illumination lamp, and the other end of the electric wire 7 for connection is connected with an electric wire 9 for supplying electric power, which is the wire harness on the vehicle side, via connectors 7a, 9a. Further, the illumination lamp and the shaft 5 are connected with each other by an electric wire 11 for earth.
The sun visor 1 having an illumination device described above is attached onto the vehicle body side as follows. The connector 9a of the power supply electric wire 9 is previously drawn out from an opening 12, which is used for harness connection, of the roof trim 4a and the roof panel 4b. After the connector 7a of the connection electric wire 7 has been connected with the connector 9a, the connectors 7a, 9a are pushed into a space in the roof section 8 of the vehicle body from the opening 12. Then the shaft 5 is fixed to the roof trim 4a and the roof panel 4b by screws 13. In this way, the sun visor 1 having an illumination device can be attached to a roof section 8 of the vehicle body.
However, the space in the roof section 8 of the vehicle body is small. Therefore, when the connectors 7a, 9a are pushed into the space, there is a probability that the connectors 7a, 9a are pinched in the small space.
Further, in order to connect the electric wires after the power supply electric wire 9, which has been once arranged in the vehicle body roof section 8, is drawn out from the opening 12, length of the power supply electric wire 9 must be extended. Accordingly, there is a probability that a redundant portion of the power supply electric wire 9 is contacted with other portions and damaged.
Furthermore, the connection work of this connector is complicated, because the connector must be connected while the sun visor body 2 is being held by one hand of a worker or while the sun visor body 2 is kept hanging when the connector 9a of the power supply electric wire 9 and the connector 7a of the connection electric wire 7 are connected with each other.
In order to prevent the occurrence of the above problems, for example, another related structure is proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-22620A.
In this sun visor 21 having an illumination device, as shown in FIG. 13, a mirror 3 indicated by phantom lines and the illumination lamp used when this mirror 3 is used are attached to a sun visor body 22. A connection electric wire.7, one end of which is connected with this illumination lamp, is inserted into a shaft 23, one end of which is attached to the sun visor body 22. An upper end of the shaft 23 is provided with a contact 26.
The upper end of the shaft 23 provided with the contact 26 is inserted into a hole formed in a bracket 25, and the lower end of the shaft 23 attached to the sun visor body 22 is connected with an electric wire 11 for earth of the illumination lamp.
On the other hand, a connector 24 is attached to a roof trim 4a arranged in a vehicle body roof section 8, so that this connector 24 is accommodated in a roof panel 4b. In this connector 24, there is provided a recess section 24a capable of accommodating a protruding portion of the bracket 25. In this recess section 24a, a contact 9b, which is arranged at one end of a power supply electric wire 9, is arranged in such a manner that the contact 9b is pushed by a coil spring 27 provided between the contact 9b and the connector 24.
The sun visor body 22 is attached as follows. First, a protruding portion of the sun visor bracket 25 is accommodated in the recess section 24a of the connector 24. Then, the contact 26 of the connection electric wire 7 comes into contact with the contact 9b of the power supply electric wire 9, and these contacts 26, 9b are electrically contacted with each other. At this time, the contact 9b is pushed by the coil spring 27 and elastically contacted with the contact 26. Therefore, even if a small tolerance is caused in the assembling work, the contacts 26, 9b can be positively contacted with each other.
When a flange 23a for attaching the bracket 25 is attached to the roof trim 4a and the roof panel 4b by screws 28, the electric wire 11 for earth of the illumination lamp is connected with the roof panel 4b via the shaft 23 and the bracket 25. In this way, electric power can be supplied to the illumination lamp.
Accordingly, connection of the electric wires of the sun visor 21 having an illumination device can be completed only when the shaft. 23 is inserted into the connector 24, that is, it is substantially unnecessary to conduct a connection work. In other words, the assembling work becomes easy. Further, it is unnecessary to draw out the power supply electric wire 9 for the purpose of connection, and length of the power supply electric wire 9 can be reduced.
Even in the case of the sun visor 21 having an illumination device described above, when the sun visor bracket 25 is attached to the roof trim 4a and the roof panel 4b by screws, a worker must hold the bracket 25 by one hand while a protruding portion of the bracket 25 is being accommodated in the recess 24a of the connector 24. Therefore, the worker must position and fasten the screws 28 by the other hand. Accordingly, the attaching work can not be efficiently conducted.